UPDATED August 11, 2007
Federation President, Carl Pursey’s Speech from the 2007 Day of Mourning Ceremony
I
want to thank all of you for coming here today to remember and honour
those workers who have died or who have been injured on the job here on
PEI.
The theme of this year’s Day of Mourning Ceremony is
“Safe and Healthy Workplaces for All Workers.” The PEI Federation
of Labour has always firmly believed and continues to fight to ensure
that all workers have the right to a safe and healthy work environment
and we are fully committed to reaching the ultimate goal of eliminating
all workplace fatalities on PEI including those that have not been
recognized as having roots in the workplace; be it illness or
occupational disease. Unfortunately as the two recent workplace
fatalities have shown us, there is still a lot of work ahead before
this goal will be reached. To reach this goal, it will take a
strong, never ceasing commitment from the Provincial Government,
unions, employers, and workers with each group having their own
responsibilities.
While it is very important to have strong
Occupational Health and Safety legislation, the Provincial Government
must never think that their responsibility ends once that legislation
is put in place. They must ensure that the penalties, resources,
personnel, and political will are there to ensure that the Occupational
Health and Safety Act is properly enforced and respected, and that
workers and employers are properly educated on their rights and
responsibilities.
Also in this year when the Worker’s
Compensation Act is up for a full legislative review, the Province
needs to look at this as an opportunity to make sure that our
legislation truly meets the needs of injured workers on PEI. The
province needs to go into this review with these goals in mind:
- To
ensure that all Island workers have the right to be fully compensated
if they are injured or become ill due to their work. No worker should
ever be forced to continue working because they are denied fair
compensation. The Three Day Waiting Period, currently in our
Legislation, goes against this basic right and needs to be removed.
- To
ensure that all work related disabilities, injuries, or illnesses,
including repetitive strain and workplace stress, are covered under
workers’ compensation legislation and policy.
- and
to ensure that the legislation provides all injured workers on PEI with
fair and timely access to the benefits and rehabilitation they need as
they recover from their injuries and work towards returning to their
jobs. And if their injuries are too severe to allow a return to their
job they should receive a pension that adequately recognizes and
compensates them for their losses.
Unions
must ensure that our members know their rights and responsibilities
regarding safety, that their concerns are brought to the proper
authorities and are dealt with in a positive way, and that we continue
to fight to ensure that strong legislation is in place to protect not
only our member’s safety but all Island worker’s safety.
Employers
must know their responsibilities regarding their employee’s safety,
ensure that their employee’s are provided with the education and
equipment needed to avoid workplace hazards and never put profit above
the safety of their employees.
Worker’s must know their rights
and responsibilities under the O H and S Act, have the courage to
speak out when they see unsafe conditions on the job, and always
remember that in the end the most important thing they can bring safely
home from work to their loved ones is not their pay cheques, it is
themselves.
As I stated earlier, our ultimate goal is to ensure
that a day comes when no Islanders will ever have to go through the
loss of a loved one through a workplace accident and we fully believe
that if those involved in ensuring workplace safety commit strongly
enough to this goal, that day will come.
In
conclusion, On this day, our thoughts and prayers are with the families
of those who have lost their lives on the job. We mourn their
loss and we pledge to continue to fight for the living so that these
tragedies never occur again.
Once again I would like to thank everyone for their attendance today
Photos
from the 2007 Day of Mourning Ceremony
Press Release In Advance of the
Federation's Sixth Annual Provincial Day of Mourning Ceremony
Program From Ceremony
Day of
Mourning 2007 Home Page
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